Bouncing Back From Covid, A Shear Opportunity

A new shearing and woolhandling competition season is under way hopes organisers have seen the back of the worst of the Covid-19 crisis which has led to the cancellation of several events on the calendar.

The season comprises competitions at 51 venues throughout the country from this week’s Waimate Shears to the New Zealand Shears in Te Kuiti on April 8-10.

Hit mainly by the cancellation of A and P shows as organisers tried to plan around the various limits if the Covid levels and uncertainty about sponsorship, eight of those held last season have been cancelled. In addition the cancellation of the New Zealand Agricultural Show (formerly the Canterbury Show) led to a decision to hold the two-day Canterbury Shears’ New Zealand Corriedale Shearing and Woolhabdling Championships in a woolshed near Hanmer Springs.

But Shearing Sports New Zealand chairman Sir David Fagan is confident all of the competitions will be back on the programme again in the 2021-2022 season.

Among those expected to bounce back are the 9 shows which had to be cancelled as the Covid levels stpped-up to the Lockdown in March and April.

The competitions still expected to be held include 32 at A and P Shows, and major stand-alone events such as the Golden Shears in Masterton and the New Zealand Shears in the North Island, and South Island events the Waimate, Otago Shears in Balclutha and Southern Shears in Gore.

Machine shearing features at all of the competitions except the Pre-Shears Woolhandling Championships just before the Golden Shears in March. Woolhandling is on the programme at 19 of the competitions, and blade shearing is included at six shows, all in the South Island.

There is no printed competition directory this season, but there is a Shearing Sports New Zealand app. https://app.shearingsports.co.nz/ which will be updated as information becomes available.

The Shearing Sports New Zealand Calendar for the 2020-2021 season is:

October 9-10 (Fri-Sat): Waimate Shears NZ Spring Chamionships (National Circuit, Rds 1 and 2), at Waimate

October 17 (Sat): Poverty Bay A and P Show, at Gisborne.

October 23 (Fri): Great Raihania Shears Hawke’s Bay, at Hastings.

November 5-6 (Thurs-Fri): Canterbury Shears (National Circuit, Rd 3), at Marble Point, Hanmer Springs.

November 7 (Sat): Pleasant Point.

November 14 (Sat): Central Hawke’s Bay A and P Show, at Waipukurau.

November 21 (Sat): Nelson A and P Show, at Richmond; West Otago A and P Show, at Tapanui.

November 28 (Sat): Taranaki Shears Stratford A and P Show, at Stratford.

January 9 (Sat): Duvauchelle A and P Show, at Duvauchelle.

January 15 (Fri): Northern Southland Community Shears, at Selby’s woolshed, Lumsden.

January 16 (Sat): Kaikohe A, P, and I Show, at Kaikohe; Wairoa A and P Show, at Wairoa; Golden Bay A and P Show, at Takaka; Southland Shears, at Winton A and P Show.

January 23 (Sat): Tapawera Sports, at Tapawera.

January 24 (Sun): Horowhenua A, P and I Show, at Levin.

January 30 (Sat): Taihape A and P Show, at Taihape.

January 31 (Sun): Rotorua A and P Show, at Ngongotaha.

February 5 (Fri): Dannevirke A and P Show, at Dannevirke.

February 6 (Sat): North Kaipara A and P Show, at Paparoa; Aria Waitangi Day Sports, at Aria; Reefton Shears, at Reefton.

February 7 (Sun): Rangitikei Shearing Sports (National Circuit, Rd 4), at Marton

February 13 (Sat): Northern Wairoa A and P Show, at Arapohue; Otago Shears, at Balclutha

February 19-20 (Fri-Sat): Southern Shears, at Gore.

February 20 (Sat): North Hokianga A and P Show, at Broadwood; Ohura Sports, at Ohura; Murchison A and P Show, at Murchison.

February 21 (Sun): Counties Shears, at Pukekohe.

February 26 (Fri): Taumarunui Shears

February 27 (Sat): Apiti Sports Shears, at Apiti; Kaikoura A and P Show, at Kaikoura.

February 28 (Sun): Pahiatua Shears (National Circuit, Rd 5), at Mangaone Valley Rd.

March 3 (Wed): Pre-Shears Woolhandling, at Mikimiki.

March 4-6 (Thur-Sat): 61st Golden Shears International Championships, at Masterton.

March 6 (Sat): Amuri A and P Show, at Rotherham.

March 13 (Sat): Kumeu A and H Show, at Kumeu; Cheviot A and P Show, at Cheviot; Mayfield A and P Show, at Mayfield.

March 20 (Sat): Warkworth A and P Show, at Warkworth; Waimarino Sports, at Raetihi; Methven Lamb Shears, at Methven.

March 21 (Sun): Sefton Shears, at Sefton

March 27 (Sat): Waitomo Caves Sports, at Waitomo.

March 28 (Sun): Flaxbourne A and P Show, at Ward.

April 2-3 (Fri-Sat): Royal Easter Show, at Auckland.

April 3 (Sat): Oxford A and P Show, at Oxford.

April 5 (Mon): MacKenzie Shears, at Fairlie.

April 8-10 (Thu-Sat): New Zealand Shears, at Te Kuiti.

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